40 | NOVEMBER 30 • 2023 
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elegations of 
students from 
MSU Chabad and 
Hillel woke up at 4 a.m. on 
Monday, Nov. 14, to begin 
their nearly 600-mile trip 
to the nation’s capital to 
March for Israel. The groups 
combined to bring 41 MSU 
students, 25 with Chabad 
and 16 with Hillel. The 
students bused from East 
Lansing to the Detroit Metro 
Airport tarmac where they 
were met by charter flights 
sponsored by the Jewish 
Federation of Detroit. 
The groups traveled 
separately but were united 
in their message as Spartans 

and Jews. Standing up for 
antisemitism and calling for 
the release of the roughly 240 
hostages in Gaza. 
“This was the March for 
Israel, this was the march 
against antisemitism, this 
was the march to free 
the hostages and it was a 
march for Jewish identity,” 
said MSU Hillel Assistant 
Director Nate Strauss who 
accompanied students in 
Washington, D.C. 
“The communal aspect 
of it was so great, especially 
because Judaism is such a 
communal religion,” said 
MSU Sophomore Elan 
Wasserman from Teaneck, 

New Jersey, who traveled 
with MSU Chabad. “To the 
Jewish people, especially, 
it’s important to remember 
that in times like this we are 
stronger together.” 
Another student, Shoshana 
Scheinberg, an MSU master’s 
student from Hoboken, New 
Jersey, who traveled with 
MSU Chabad, has a personal 
connection to the Hamas 
attack on Oct. 7. Scheinberg 
knows Omer Neutra, a 
22-year-old Israeli soldier 
believed to be taken hostage. 
“I know Omer Neutra 
from our time in USY, a 
Jewish youth group we did 
in high school. We were both 

involved in leadership within 
the organization.” 
Scheinberg said, “Omer 
was the president of the 
METNY New York region 
and is a close friend to so 
many. Omer is a natural-
born leader and approaches 
every situation thoughtfully 
with a charismatic nature. 
Omer’s leadership and 
impact touches so many 
of those in USY and every 
community that he is a part 
of.” 
While attending MSU 
Scheinberg said, “It has 
been hard for me to be far 
away from my community 
in the New York area as 
the violence in Israel has 
progressed. Not being able to 
attend events in support of 
freeing Omer and the other 
hostages has been extremely 
difficult. 
“It was incredibly 

Spartans in D.C.

One Spartan marched for her friend, hostage Omer Neutra.

BRIAN GOLDSMITH SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

OUR COMMUNITY

Jewish Spartans 
on the Mall in 
Washington, D.C.

Shoshana Scheinberg 
holds a sign with Omer 
Neutra’s name on it. 

